Windows 8 is bringing with its general release on October 26th a number of changes. Windows RT which will arrive on the same day on Window RT devices will naturally be much more different as it has a new architecture and hardware under the surface. Trying to get a feel for what is coming in Windows RT has been a little difficult with sparse information out there. Microsoft shined a little light on the topic with a blog post this last week titled Building Office for Windows RT.
The Microsoft Surface will be the key Windows RT device but there will be others available from Microsoft’s OEM partners. Windows RT uses an ARM processor to provide better battery life and performance over Intel processors as the entire system – CPU, graphics card, network adapter, and others – is on a single chip. Windows RT is currently targeted at the consumer line based on lack of the ability to join devices to the domain and the exclusion of Outlook in Office for Windows RT.
Speaking of Office, that gets us back to the Building Office for Windows RT article. Give it a read for a thorough example of the advantages Windows RT will have but also some of the limitations. For me, at least, it helped provide some grounded expectations of what to see in Windows RT and the Office suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote) that will come bundled with it.